>**Russia-linked hackers sent a total of 187,000 text messages promoting the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) and took control of screens in 20 shopping malls ahead of last year’s parliamentary elections in Poland, the “Gazeta Wyborcza” newspaper has reported.**
>The incident occurred in the run-up to Poland’s October 15, 2023 parliamentary ballot, and hackers, likely acting on behalf of Russian intelligence, reportedly planned to send an additional 600,000 text messages urging voters to support the PiS party, *Gazeta Wyborcza* said, citing an investigation by the Mazovian branch of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency.
>Prosecutors say the timing, coordinated nature of the “Vote for PiS” operation, and the content disseminated suggest that the campaign may have involved disinformation efforts in support of a foreign intelligence service.
>These activities reportedly aimed to spread false or misleading information with the goal of causing significant disruption to the functioning of Poland’s political system.
>Sources cited by *Gazeta Wyborcza* claim that professionals, not amateurs, were behind the operation, and their methods point to the involvement of Russian intelligence services.
>They note that these efforts align with broader Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe, highlighting that one of Russia’s key strategies is to sow confusion and deepen divisions within Western societies.
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!ping POLAND&EUROPE
>**Russia-linked hackers sent a total of 187,000 text messages promoting the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) and took control of screens in 20 shopping malls ahead of last year’s parliamentary elections in Poland, the “Gazeta Wyborcza” newspaper has reported.**
>The incident occurred in the run-up to Poland’s October 15, 2023 parliamentary ballot, and hackers, likely acting on behalf of Russian intelligence, reportedly planned to send an additional 600,000 text messages urging voters to support the PiS party, *Gazeta Wyborcza* said, citing an investigation by the Mazovian branch of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency.
>Prosecutors say the timing, coordinated nature of the “Vote for PiS” operation, and the content disseminated suggest that the campaign may have involved disinformation efforts in support of a foreign intelligence service.
>These activities reportedly aimed to spread false or misleading information with the goal of causing significant disruption to the functioning of Poland’s political system.
>Sources cited by *Gazeta Wyborcza* claim that professionals, not amateurs, were behind the operation, and their methods point to the involvement of Russian intelligence services.
>They note that these efforts align with broader Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe, highlighting that one of Russia’s key strategies is to sow confusion and deepen divisions within Western societies.
>(mp/gs)
>Source: Gazeta Wyborcza/IAR